Windows Update hangs on "checking for updates". Haven't been able to install updates since Oct. 2011

Anonymous
2012-01-13T20:52:46+00:00

Hey there everyone,

I'm having an issue with Windows Update on my Windows 7 64-bit computer. My last most recent update check was on 10/3/2011 and my last actual update was on 9/29/2011. What is basically happening is that Windows is telling me that I need to check for updates. I click on Check for updates, and it basically acts like it is checking for updates, but never moves beyond that. I can leave it checking for hours, and nothing will happen. It won't get me to the screen where I can actually select updates, nor does Windows even acknowledge that I checked for updates.

I've already tried using the Windows Update Fix tool, but there was no success with that at all. I thought that maybe it was my firewall or internet settings, and it's not that either. Does anyone have any suggestions. Thanks!

Peter

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Windows update

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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Anonymous
2012-02-13T16:39:04+00:00

Hi,

Try the following methods

Method 1:

1. Click Start

2. Type ‘cmd’ in the search bar.

3. Right click Command prompt and choose “Run as Administrator”

4. At the command prompt, type the following, commands and then press ENTER after each command:

a. net stop wuauserv

b. net stop bits

c. net stop cryptsvc

Please do not close the Command Prompt window.

Method 2: ****Rename folders pertaining to Windows Update.

At the command prompt, type the following commands, and then press Enter after each command:

a) ren %systemroot%\System32\Catroot2 Catroot2.old

b) ren %systemroot%\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old

At the command prompt, type the following, commands and then press ENTER after each command:

a) net start wuauserv

b) net start bits

c) net start cryptsvc

Close the Command Prompt window and check the issue if issue reoccurs

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  1. Anonymous
    2016-08-26T12:53:56+00:00

    I am hoping some good guru will confirm whether it is still necessary as first step to delete or rename "Software Distribution" folder

    It has no relevance in solving the ongoing general update issue. :/

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-08-26T05:37:51+00:00

    When I right mouse click on cmd it does not give me run as admin and I am set as admin.

    I have uninstalled Norton, Maleware and still will not update I have tried fix and search for problems and still hangs.

    Any other options

    Colleen, you're aware you're following instructions in this thread from 4 years ago? (by Vinod Archak, Feb 13, 2012).

    The intent of those instructions is to delete, or equivalently rename, the folder C:\Windows\Software Distribution. This is where Windows Updates are downloaded to, and the history of all previous updates is maintained. The theory is that this history is bloated or corrupted, and causes "Downloading Updates Stuck at 0%", or "Searching for Updates.." that never ends. I don't know which problem you are seeing.

    Deleting or renaming "Software Distribution" folder is considered harmless, as Windows will rebuild it on the next Update attempt. Unfortunately, afterwards the next attempt to do Windows Update will show "last updated: never", but that is not really a problem. Windows will always know which updates are missing.

    I am hoping some good guru will confirm whether it is still necessary as first step to delete or rename "Software Distribution" folder, or whether that fix is superseded by the good advice in this thread on pp 18-20. That is mostly concerned with manually installing a particular update that involves the Windows Update service itself.

    Let's assume you want to get on with renaming or deleting "Software Distribution".  It doesn't matter which you choose, let's say "rename", aka "ren"

    First, any attempt to rename will get "access denied" because some service or program is using this folder.

    So you need to shut down those services first, delete the folder, then restart the services, then restart "Check for Updates"

    There are two equivalent ways to shut down the services in question:

    1. Control Panel->Administrative Tools->Services (use this to Disable or set to Manual Startup, then reboot)
    2. Command Prompt (=cmd.exe, run as admin) With this you run the "net stop xxxx" commands, and later the "net start xxxx" commands, after you have successfully renamed or deleted "Software Distribution" folder.

    To run Command Prompt as Administrator:

    -click Start icon

    -type cmd or cmd.exe in search window

    -system response should show "Command Prompt" or "cmd.exe" in an icon above the search window

    -right click on that Command Prompt icon and you must see "run as admin" as the first option, which you then click

    -in the Command Prompt window that then opens you will type the "net stop xxxx" commands, then the "ren" command or just delete the Software Distribution folder using Win Explorer, then back in Command Prompt use the "net start xxxx" to restart those services.

    The three services that must be temporarily stopped are:

    -wuaserv.exe    Windows Update service

    -BITS.exe         Background Intelligent Transfer Service

    -CryptSvc        Cryptographic Services

    Please describe the specific Windows Update error or problem you are seeing. I hope you will get past this, as many of us have, with help from Volume Z and others in this forum.

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-08-25T21:02:00+00:00

    Greetings from the Great Country of TEXAS,

    After following those instructions and posting what was done, went looking for those name changes and find them to be folders.  The subfolder of Windows titled :SoftwareDistribution" has a log file titled "ReportingEvents.log" with the following data:

    {185F5D75-5CB1-4688-9FED-5DB526CF3D50}    2016-08-22 00:03:05:279-0600    1    148    101    {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}    0    8024402c    Microsoft Security Essentials (    Failure    Software Synchronization    Windows Update Client failed to detect with error 0x8024402c.

    {54E843D0-DEA6-4957-9AB4-443B25DB61F7}    2016-08-22 00:11:29:096-0600    1    148    101    {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}    0    8024402c    Microsoft Security Essentials (    Failure    Software Synchronization    Windows Update Client failed to detect with error 0x8024402c.

    {3A2BB541-C248-4201-9CC6-6B2DA797200C}    2016-08-22 05:54:48:569-0600    1    148    101    {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}    0    8024402c    Microsoft Security Essentials (    Failure    Software Synchronization    Windows Update Client failed to detect with error 0x8024402c.

    {B14C8C07-4D7E-4B19-BDAB-35CCA6F94F1C}    2016-08-22 06:03:34:103-0600    1    148    101    {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}    0    8024402c    Microsoft Security Essentials (    Failure    Software Synchronization    Windows Update Client failed to detect with error 0x8024402c.

    {FADDD3AB-08D5-4C2B-9270-8A5E3371CD61}    2016-08-22 06:21:41:862-0600    1    148    101    {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}    0    8024402c    Microsoft Security Essentials (    Failure    Software Synchronization    Windows Update Client failed to detect with error 0x8024402c.

    {44CE2784-73D7-4CB9-99AD-E44D3A3D131E}    2016-08-22 06:41:50:366-0600    1    148    101    {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}    0    8024402c    Microsoft Security Essentials (    Failure    Software Synchronization    Windows Update Client failed to detect with error 0x8024402c.

    {DE7F57EE-8C1F-41BC-8830-7523CF3C6787}    2016-08-22 06:50:45:794-0600    1    148    101    {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}    0    8024402c    Microsoft Security Essentials (    Failure    Software Synchronization    Windows Update Client failed to detect with error 0x8024402c.

    {5D401543-1120-425D-8F53-B0388C96C318}    2016-08-22 06:55:02:882-0600    1    148    101    {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}    0    8024a005    AutomaticUpdates    Failure    Software Synchronization    Windows Update Client failed to detect with error 0x8024a005.

    {914BA521-EAE3-483F-ACF5-A2132A3D0B22}    2016-08-22 07:03:37:486-0600    1    148    101    {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}    0    8024402c    Microsoft Security Essentials (    Failure    Software Synchronization    Windows Update Client failed to detect with error 0x8024402c.

    {6006A229-3A8E-42A7-B1CB-67EEAF0035F2}    2016-08-22 07:04:10:371-0600    1    202    102    {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}    0    0    AutomaticUpdates    Success    Content Install    Reboot completed.

    {2E30DF3A-734E-4BF7-81A2-FE9D45BBC1ED}    2016-08-22 07:10:26:376-0600    1    148    101    {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}    0    8024402c    Microsoft Security Essentials (    Failure    Software Synchronization    Windows Update Client failed to detect with error 0x8024402c.

    {97E74F09-9A44-4650-B88F-7B22BAE60B90}    2016-08-22 09:24:09:033-0600    1    202    102    {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}    0    0    AutomaticUpdates    Success    Content Install    Reboot completed.

    {8D7C62CC-9D02-458B-9CC2-4F15B6A3ED80}    2016-08-22 10:08:09:721-0600    1    202    102    {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}    0    0    AutomaticUpdates    Success    Content Install    Reboot completed.

    {38D42009-E268-4BD4-8AFE-F551D87DA17F}    2016-08-22 10:23:48:183-0600    1    202    102    {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}    0    0    AutomaticUpdates    Success    Content Install    Reboot completed.

    {833E0B28-EEAE-41E6-95F0-8A11C17B28FF}    2016-08-22 11:13:09:789-0600    1    202    102    {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}    0    0    AutomaticUpdates    Success    Content Install    Reboot completed.

    {8ED66F7D-C98F-4A2E-8051-04D88DCC6725}    2016-08-23 02:17:10:821-0600    1    202    102    {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}    0    0    AutomaticUpdates    Success    Content Install    Reboot completed.

    {138DEF98-4498-46D9-A030-11DE2D16C213}    2016-08-23 04:49:18:117-0600    1    202    102    {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}    0    0    AutomaticUpdates    Success    Content Install    Reboot completed.

    {3DE722A2-4CC8-4A61-8B4B-1A4D0F4DE98B}    2016-08-23 05:42:15:609-0600    1    202    102    {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}    0    0    AutomaticUpdates    Success    Content Install    Reboot completed.

    {388D0051-8E59-4715-861E-5DFA90360E11}    2016-08-24 01:07:25:952-0600    1    202    102    {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}    0    0    AutomaticUpdates    Success    Content Install    Reboot completed.

    {6BDA211D-079C-4D14-9621-79461527E1E5}    2016-08-24 01:43:09:636-0600    1    202    102    {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}    0    0    AutomaticUpdates    Success    Content Install    Reboot completed.

    {0C44C7B8-13EA-4F61-B1B6-CACD0473EC40}    2016-08-24 01:56:22:628-0600    1    202    102    {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}    0    0    AutomaticUpdates    Success    Content Install    Reboot completed.

    {E586D0D2-32C6-4E9F-A173-3C32DD207101}    2016-08-24 06:03:01:643-0600    1    148    101    {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}    0    8024402c    Microsoft Security Essentials (    Failure    Software Synchronization    Windows Update Client failed to detect with error 0x8024402c.

    {761D44AF-390E-4AD8-8A55-D579016C7E37}    2016-08-24 06:23:29:907-0600    1    202    102    {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}    0    0    AutomaticUpdates    Success    Content Install    Reboot completed.

    {647D0729-8975-4F92-98E9-0818B4E2E7B2}    2016-08-24 19:41:01:878-0600    1    202    102    {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}    0    0    AutomaticUpdates    Success    Content Install    Reboot completed.

    {B501F343-58F1-4A71-A1E2-B8BBD788F158}    2016-08-24 22:16:28:413-0600    1    202    102    {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}    0    0    AutomaticUpdates    Success    Content Install    Reboot completed.

    {BBB3157F-E9EF-4EA8-A0F0-863B1EFE1EC7}    2016-08-24 22:33:40:297-0600    1    202    102    {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}    0    0    AutomaticUpdates    Success    Content Install    Reboot completed.

    {A137453F-FA5F-4FD0-8987-BA8459F81CBD}    2016-08-24 23:06:52:635-0600    1    202    102    {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}    0    0    AutomaticUpdates    Success    Content Install    Reboot completed.

    Showing the last successful activity was yesterday at 23:06:52:635 a little before midnight.  NOTE: the failures by Microsoft Security Essentials - software synchronization.  There were some successes yet there are no records for today.   Any ideas?

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-08-25T19:11:57+00:00

    When I right mouse click on cmd it does not give me run as admin and I am set as admin.

    I have uninstalled Norton, Maleware and still will not update I have tried fix and search for problems and still hangs.

    Any other options

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